Furniture



E. A. PURNELL I FURNITURE .Feb. 8, 1949.

Filed March 5, 1945 fdwardA. u -nell/ Patented Feb. 8, 1949 FURNITUREEdward A. Parnell, Youngstown, Ohio, assignor to The GeneralFireproofing COmpany Youngstown, hio,-a corporation of Ohio ApplicationMarch 5, 1945, Serial No. 580,980

1 Claim. (01. 155-494) This invention relates toan improvement infurniture of the type used in offices, homes, on shipboard, and inrailway cars, and more particularly to ornamentin metal furniture madeof aluminum.

Aluminum furniture has been finished in various ways. In mostcases, thealuminum surface is'bufied and lacquered'to provide the familiarover-all satin finish. On the other hand, in some cases, the aluminumframes have been painted or otherwise ornamented to obtainharmoniouscolor eiiects. Upholstery has also been used in connectionwith aluminum frames. However, no satisfactory means of permanently andattractively ornamenting aluminum furniture frames has heretofore beensatisfactorily developed in view of the numerous considerations andproblems involved in attaining this desirable end. A prime considerationin effecting permanent and desirable ornamentation is to providemechanical means which is not only feasibleand practical from thestandpoint of acceptable manufacturing procedures, but also thoroughlyreliable in use, particularly in the respect that no rough edges, orsharp edges, must ever be present to snag clothing or hosiery, and alsoin the respect that it will readily withstand such usage or wear as mayoccur if the aluminum furniture is used in more or less public places orconveyances.

Moreover, aluminum furniture frames are usually made of tubing whichaffords a relatively restricted or limited opportunity for mechanicaloperations because of the wall thickness, small exposed areas availablefor ornamentation, and other inherent characteristics of the tubing.Additionally, welding ornamental strips or the like to the tubing is notappropriate, because, from a manufacturing standpoint, Welding is notonly expensive in view of the operations involved in uniting anornamental strip to the aluminum 7 tube, but the result of the Weldingoperation leaves scars that require subsequent finishingoperations, suchas additional polishing and buffing to obtain a smooth surface, all of.which contribute to the ultimate cost. On the other hand, the use oftongues or tangs on strips for fitting into holes at various points isnot acceptable for the reason that since the strip is surface attached,the exposed edges of the strip offer the ever present possibility ofbulging or inviting cleavage, not to speak of resistance to lateralbending or shifting under handling; catching the clothing; or pinchingthe flesh, thereby giving the impression of cheap short-livedconstruction which is the 2 antithesis of what is expected of aluminumfurniture.

Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide novel meansfor effecting the ornamentation ofaluminum furniture which is practicalfrom the manufacturing standpoint as well as extraordinarily practicaland satisfactory from the standpoint of the user in the sense that theornamentation is permanent, smooth, and permits of a relatively, widechoice of materials to obtain the desired results.

A further object is to provide novel means for unitingornamental stripswith furniture frames made of aluminum tubing.

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appearas the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists,in the novel construction, combination, and

arrangement of parts hereinafter more full described, illustrated, andclaimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the inventionis shown in theaccompanying drawings in which: 1

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a. chair having aluminum framesprovided with ornamentationv in accordance with the present invention.

Figures 2 and 3 are detail perspective views, partly in section, andillustrating the embodiment of the invention-wherein the ornamentationis applied totubing'made by rolling.

Figures 4, 5, 6 and '7 are additional perspective views, partly insection, illustrating the embodiment of the invention in extruded tubingsections.

Figure 8 is a detail elevation of the bottom of a chair leg showing howan end of the ornamental strip. may be anchored.

Similar references designate corresponding parts throughout the severalfigures of the draw- Referring first to'Figure 1, it will beunderstoodthat a chair Chas beenselected as an example of furniture to beornamented in accordance with the present invention. However, tablelegs, and other furniture parts may. be similarly treated. The chair isprovided with the side frames A whose front face isfltted with the stripB of contrasting color. This strip may be of metal or any other suitablematerial, and may have a surface ornamental coating, or, in the case ofa plastic may have inherent color.

In Figure 2 of the drawing-it will be seenthat the frame A is made froma tubing section I, formed-by the rolling method and all of its wallsare of equal thickness. In this case, it will be are welded, asindicated at 3, a countersunk substantially dove-tailed groove or keychannel is provided. This channel is intended to receive the strip 3,which may be of spring metal, plastic, or other material, andpreferably, of a color which contrasts with the finish of theoutersurface of the tube I. The strip B may be inserted or fitted in thechannel by a sliding movement or by springing the same into the place byblows from a rubber mallet. seen that the strip or insert B not onlycovers the welded seam 3, butiis firmly locked in the countersunkchannel i so thatit cannot escape sidewise or at right angles to thebottom of the channel after it isslidably placed therein; Moreover, theouter or exposed surface of the strip forms a smooth surface whichoffers no projections, burrs, or fins which would tend to catchclothing. While, in most cases, no special means are required to preventshifting of the strip after it is'once fitted in the channel, becausethe bend or curve in the arms or legs prevents relative longitudinalmovement, nevertheless, it is preferably to make the strip or insert Bslightly longer. than the tubing and then bend or clinch one end 5thereof, as shown in Figure 8, inwardly at the foot of the leg or otherpart of the furniture frame which is not exposed to garment contact.

i Figure '3' of the drawings illustrates a rolled tube l wherein thechannel 4 is formed by the angular flanges 2 and 2 made in one wallduring rolling. 'In this' form, the bottom walls of the channel i areoverlapped and then welded together as at 3 The strip B, when insertedcompletely fills the channel and covers the welded seam. V

Figures i, 5', 6 and 7 all show extruded tubing sections 6 wherein threewalls '1 thereof are of uniform thickness while the fourth wall 8 is ofgreater thickness or depth than the other three. During the extrudingprocedure the thickened wall 8 in each of Figures'4-7 inclusive, isprovided with achannel of appropriate cross-section to slidably receiveand hold or look an ornamental strip therein.

' In Figures 4 and '5 the channels 4 and 4 which respectively receivethe strips B and B are of substantially inverted T-shaped formation andthe said strips are of mating crosssectional form.

In Figure 6 the channel t has its marginal edges rounded and the strip Bconforms.

"In Figure 7 the channel 4 is of dove-tailed cross sectional shape andthe strip B is of similar cross section. In practice, one face of thetubing section is provided with a key channel throughout its length,preferably before bending into frame form. This face is preferably theexposed or front face of the tube although it, of course, may

Thus, it will be 4 be a side face where the tubing is of rectangularcross section. Although tubing of rectangular cross section is generallyused, it will be apparent that the invention will be the same withrespect to the tubing of circular or other cross section.

The distinctive feature of the invention is that the tubing of aluminumor other metal is provided with a countersunk or depressed groove orchannel during its manufacture for receiving a strip of metal, plasticor other material, which is preferably of a different color from thefinish of the major surface of the tubing. In all cases, the channels orgrooves are of such cross section as to form a key for interlocking andholding a strip of substantially similar cross section or a thin stripof transversely arched cross section in place. Because the edges of thechannel cover the key edges of the strip, the contiguous exposed edgesof the channel and the strip are of glasslike smoothness, therebypresenting no garment hazards while at the same time providingornamentation of a lasting and permanent nature befitting the longevityof the furniture frame itself.

Without further description, it is believed that the features andadvantages ofthe invention will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art, and it will of course be understood that changes may beresorted to within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim: 7

An article of metallic furniture including a tubular metallic elementhaving certain walls thereof relatively thin and another wall thereof ofmaterially greater thickness and provided with a closed-bottom channelhaving a mouth portion -opening through the outer face of said lastmentioned wall, the mouth portion of said channel being a lesser widththan the bottom portion of said channel to provide lips at the sides ofsaid mouth portion overhanging the bottom side portions of said channel,and an ornamental strip disposed in said channel, opposite side portionsof said strip being disposed in opposite side portions of said channelbeneath and in-contact with said lips and at least a portion of thebottom of said strip being in contact with the bottom wall of saidchannel, whereby said strip. is retained securely in said channel, theouter face of said strip being exposed and serving in effect as acontinuation of the outer face of the wall having said channel therein.

' EDWARD A. PURNELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

